JOHANNESBURG, 9 February (IRIN) -
Zambia said this week it would not allow Angolan government forces to launch
operations against UNITA rebels from its territory.
A senior government official told IRIN
on Wednesday that this was the essence of a message carried to the Angolan
capital, Luanda, at the weekend by Zambian Defence Minister Chitalu Sampa.
Zambia, he said, did not want to get embroiled in the conflict, and did
not want the kind of tensions seen in Namibia which in recent weeks invited
Angolan forces to use its territory as a springboard against UNITA.
"We have remained neutral in the Angolan conflict, and we remain so," the official said.
Sampa visited Luanda to attend the 16th session of the Angola-Zambia Joint Permanent Defence and Security Commission, during which the two countries discussed a range of security issues.
In an interview with Reuters after the meeting, Sampa said an invitation to Angolan forces was not in Zambia's interests: "It is not in our favour because it means sharing the war from Angola into Zambia. And looking into our economic capacity, we don't think we would be able to overcome such a problem."
Since October, when Angolan forces launched an all-out drive against UNITA strongholds in the south and east of the country, 22,000 Angolans have fled across the border into Zambia, according to UNHCR figures. There have also been raids on Zambian border settlements which the Zambian government has refused to blame on either side.
In the only public statement on their meeting so far, Angolan Defence Minister Kundy Payhama was quoted by the official state news agency as saying, "the situation along the Angola-Zambia border is worrisome despite efforts made by the two countries to reverse the situation".
Payhama, it added, "said he was pleased with the treatment being given by the Zambian authorities to the thousands of Angolan refugees living in various camps in the neighbouring country."
Like South Africa, Zambian officials told IRIN they too believed negotiations between the warring parties offered the best hope of an end to Angola's 26-year civil war.
[ENDS]
IRIN-SA - Tel: +2711 880 4633
Fax: +2711 880 1421
e-mail: irin-sa@irin.org.za
[This item is delivered in the English service of the UN's IRIN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or to change your keywords, contact e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org or Web: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer.]
Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2000